Central Park (1924)

From this point you are in the southern portion of Central Park. Over its almost 100-year life, Central Park has served as the primary meeting place for the community, supporting countless formal and informal activities including the celebration of holidays, family picnics, a myriad of arts festivals, musical offerings, and all sorts of political rallies.

The design of the Park originated from the Olmsted Brothers, the premier landscape and planning company in the U.S. They were hired by a self-appointed group of business leaders, the Boulder City Improvement Association. The Olmsted firm worked from 1908 to 1925 designing city improvements throughout the town. Central Park opened in 1924. One of the Olmsted’s primary recommendations addressed flood mitigation along Boulder Creek to prevent another disastrous flood event such as that occurring in 1894. Olmsted’s recommendations advised the City to acquire the flood-prone areas along the Creek to prevent them from being developed. This resulted in the Boulder Creek Path, the multi-use paths along the tributaries, and park land in the civic area.

Many of the design ideas of the park are intact today including the perimeter shade trees, the paths following the Creek, the flood mitigation measures, the multi-use open lawn spaces in the middle, and the views maintained to the Flatirons.

In the late 1920's the Denver-based planner, Saco DeBoer was hired by the city government of Boulder to elaborate on the design of this area, shaping the civic use as we know it today. His ideas included identifying the area west of Broadway for the city hall and public library, the area east of Broadway for an outdoor theater space, and a connection to the south, to the CU campus.

In popular culture Central Park has been mentioned in the books of several authors including a significant setting in the novel The Stand, by Stephen King and in films including Catch & Release (2006) and Elevation (2024).

From here walk along the Creek path and stop just before the bridge that crosses the irrigation ditch. Again, be careful of fast-moving bicyclists.